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Transcripts/The Excuse
:Miss Marla: No homework, Ester? :Ester: It’s like this, Miss Marla. :Miss Marla: And don’t tell me your pet starfish ate it because you told me that last time. :Ester: I did? :Miss Marla: And don’t say it was accidentally put into the wash with your clothes. You said that the time before last. :Ester: Really? :Miss Marla: And I don’t want to hear how you were so afraid of homework-stealing crabs, that you put the homework into your father’s safe and forgot how to unlock it. :Ester: I said that? :Miss Marla: So what is it this time? :Ester: I did do half my homework, Miss Marla. :Miss Marla: Well, that’s a start at least. :Ester: I… I would’ve finished it all, but… :Miss Marla: But? :Ester: …but… my father is sick. :Miss Marla: Oh, not seriously, I hope? :Ester: No, no. He’s getting better all the time! :Miss Marla: And you’ve been looking after him? :Ester: Yes. I mean, um, some of the time, Miss Marla. :Miss Marla: Oh, good. Alright then, I’ll give you an extension to finish it. You can hand it in at the end of the week. :Ester: Oh, thank you, Miss Marla! :chattering :Polvina: Ester…? :Ester: I know what you want to say, Polvina. I always get into trouble when I make up excuses. :Tubarina: You do. :Ester: But I didn’t make it all up. My father was sick. :Polvina: It was only a little cold. :Ester: And I did look after him by taking him hot drinks, so that part’s true. :Polvina: But it’s not the whole truth. :Tubarina: It didn’t stop you from doing your homework. :Polvina: What stopped you was going to see those rainbow fish. :Ester: You came and watched them too! :Tubarina: But we did our homework first. :Ester: I’ve finished my homework now so there’ll be no trouble! Stop worrying, will you? :Miss Marla: Oh, Ester? grapes I do hope your father likes these. :Ester: Er, he’ll love them, Miss Marla! But why would he want them? :Miss Marla: There’s nothing nicer than some fresh fruit to make him feel better. I’ll come over and give it to your father tonight. :Ester: No, you can’t do that! :Miss Marla: Why not? :Ester: Uh, my father is… still sick and… isn’t allowed to have any visitors! :Miss Marla: Didn’t you say he was better, Ester? :Ester: He is! He’s much better. But still sick. :Miss Marla: The poor man! Alright then. You give him this and my best wishes too. :Ester: I will, Miss Marla. Thank you! :Miss Marla: We’re all thinking of him. off :Polvina: What were you saying about “no trouble”, Ester? :Tubarina: Because that’s a basketful of trouble, right there. :Ester: What’ll we do with these grapes, Spikey? We can’t give them to my father, he’ll want to thank Miss Marla and then they’ll know I fibbed. I know! We could eat them ourselves! :Spikey: gurgling :Ester: muffled Mmm, that’s right, Miss Marla sure knows her fruit. Mm. :Spikey: gurgling :Ester: Don’t eat so fast, Spikey. You’ll get a stomach ache. :on door :Starfish King: Ester? door Shouldn’t you be in bed now? :Ester: Just going, Father! :Starfish King: What’s that you have? :Ester: Uh, just a few old grapes. :Starfish King: But there’s a get well card on it. Goodness, is someone ill? :Ester: Um, yeah. :Starfish King: Who? :Ester: Who? It’s… Miss Marla! :Starfish King: Is it serious? :Ester: Ooh, no, she’s much better now, Father. Hardly sick at all! :Starfish King: She’ll love those grapes! It’s a very nice thought, Ester. and closes door :Ester: This is getting worse by the minute! What am I going to do, Spikey? :Spikey: gurgling :Polvina and Tubarina: Ester, you didn’t! :Ester: I couldn’t think of anything else to say! :Tubarina: So now your father and Miss Marla both think the other is sick? :Ester: But today, they’ll think each other is better. :Tubarina: Why will they think that? :Ester: Because I’ll tell them, that’s why! :Miss Marla: Good morning, girls. :Girls: Good morning, Miss Marla. :Miss Marla: Did you father like the fruit basket, Ester? :Ester: He thought it was very nice, Miss Marla. :Miss Marla: So he’s feeling okay now? :Ester: Totally, Miss Marla. :Miss Marla: That’s wonderful. I’ll contact some other kings and queens and we’ll all have a nice big lunch together. :Ester: Lunch? Together? Er, no, Miss Marla, you can’t! :Miss Marla: Whyever not? :Ester: Because… he’s much worse! :Miss Marla: But I thought you just said he was better. :Ester: I did! :Miss Marla: So, which is he, better or worse? :Ester: He’s… uh… both. :Others: Both? :Ester: Y’know, one moment he seems better, the next he’s worse. :Miss Marla: If that’s the case, you shouldn’t really be here, Ester. :Ester: I shouldn’t? :Miss Marla: You should be caring for your father. I’ll put aside some lessons for you to catch up on. Right now, the most important thing is your father’s health. Off you go. :Ester: Uh, yes, Miss Marla. Thank you. off :Miss Marla: Poor Ester. It must be a real worry for her. :Polvina: It’s a worry for us too, Miss Marla. :Spikey: gurgling :Ester: Shh! Spikey, come down. I don’t want the king to know I’m home early! :Starfish King: Why not? :Ester: Father! :Starfish King: Why are you home early, Ester? :Ester: Miss Marla… ah, she’s… um… :Starfish King: Still sick? :Ester: Er, yes. :Starfish King: Poor Miss Marla. What an awful situation. off :Ester: herself It sure is. And it’s going to get even more awful unless I can think of something fast! :Ester: Let’s work this out. Here’s Miss Marla, and here’s my father. :Polvina: Both of them thinking the other is very sick. :Tubarina: All you have to do is keep them apart, and then they’ll never find out the truth. :Ester: Great. Keep them apart. That’s exactly what we’ll do! So, how do we do that? :Tubarina: Um, I haven’t worked that bit out yet. :Ester: Oh. :on door :Starfish Queen: Ester. :Ester: Come in, Mother. :Starfish Queen: door Hello, girls. :Polvina and Tubarina: Hello, Your Highness. :Starfish Queen: Ester, I’m going out now and won’t be back until late. :Ester: Okay. :Starfish Queen: Your father has told me all about poor Miss Marla. We’ll discuss a substitute teacher at the school committee meeting tonight. :Ester: The school committee meeting?! :Starfish Queen: Good night! door :Polvina: Did your mother say school committee meeting? :Tubarina: Which Miss Marla also attends? :Polvina: I think you have a slight problem here, Ester. :Tubarina: What are you going to do? :Ester: for a moment Mother. Mother!! out of door Mother, you can’t go to the meeting! :Starfish Queen: Why, what’s the matter? :Ester: I-I’ve got what she has. Ugh, sick! Ugh, very sick! then faint on ground :Starfish Queen: Oh no, you poor darling! :Starfish Queen: Now take this, Ester. :Ester: medicine Blech. :Starfish Queen: Isn’t that better? :Ester: Not really, Mother. :Starfish Queen: It will be. I’ll be back with more soon. :Ester: More? closes So far so good. :Polvina: Why don’t you just tell the truth? :Ester: Tell the truth? :Tubarina: Why not? You might get yelled at a bit, but at least it’ll be over and done with. :Ester: Are you crazy? I’d be in so much trouble! :Polvina: So what’re you going to do? Stay sick in bed forever? :Ester: That’s not a bad idea! :Tubarina: Polvina wasn’t serious. :Polvina: People are going to find out, sooner or later. :Ester: No, they won’t. Not if I stay one step ahead of them. :Tubarina: That’s impossible! There just aren’t that many excuses! :Ester: I’ll find them. You’ll see. I’ll come up with something really amazing! pause Oh, why is it so cold now? :Tubarina: It’s not cold. :Ester: shivering I’m freezing! :opens :Starfish Queen: Here’s some more medicine, Ester. :Ester: All of it? :Starfish Queen: All of it. medicine Very good. :Ester: Blech. You won’t be going to the meeting tonight, will you? :Starfish Queen: No, I’ll be staying at home to look after you. :Ester: Thank you, Mother. :Starfish Queen: Your father will go instead. :Ester: Father? :Starfish Queen: Now, I’ll just go and make you some soup. and closes door :Ester: This is a disaster! We have to move quickly! window :Polvina: What are you doing? :Ester: We’ve got to stop my father! :Polvina: Ester? :Tubarina: Ester? Oh, wait up! :Polvina: Ester, stop! :Tubarina: You can’t do this! :Ester: I’ve figured it all out, I’ll tell Father I’m so sick that I need both him and Mother to look after me! :Polvina: Ester, wait. What will happen if they call a doctor and he tells them you’re not sick? :Ester: Then I’ll think of something else! :Tubarina: Oh, you can’t be serious! :Polvina: You have to stop, Ester, otherwise this is going to go on forever. :Ester: grumbles You’re right. Oh, I wish I knew what to do! Oh! :Polvina: Are you alright? :Ester: Yeah. Just a little… strange. :Polvina: Strange how? :Ester: Strange bad. moans :Tubarina: Hey, come on. You don’t have to act in front of us. :Polvina: I don’t think this is an act. :Ester: Oh! :Polvina: Stay with her. I’m going to get help! :Ester: Oh! :Starfish King: Are you feeling any pain, Ester? :Ester: I hardly feel a thing, Father. :Starfish Queen: The doctor said the appendix operation was a great success. :Miss Marla: You’ll be up and about in no time. :Ester: yawns Great. :Starfish King: It’s time for you to get some rest. :Starfish Queen: We’ll see you tomorrow. :Miss Marla: And I’ll see you at school next week. :Starfish King: And this time, you’ll have a real excuse for not doing homework. :realises :Miss Marla: laughs :Starfish Queen: Don’t keep Ester long, girls. :Tubarina: We’ll… just say goodbye. :closes :Ester: They know! :Tubarina: They sure do! :Ester: Gee, just when I thought I’d pulled off the most truly amazing excuse of all time. :Tubarina: Really being sick? :Polvina: And having your appendix removed! :Ester: Alright, it was drastic, but it was still amazing! :Polvina: Hi, Ester. :Tubarina: How’s it going? :Ester: It’s terrible! At this rate, I won’t finish this cleaning for another week at least! :Tubarina: Boy, Miss Marla’s really making you pay, isn’t she? :Ester: You said it. From now on, I’ll never make up an excuse again. :Polvina: sigh Thank goodness for that. :bell rings :Tubarina: Time for class. :Polvina: Coming, Ester? :Ester: Yep! Oh, by the way, I wanted to thank you for visiting me while I was sick. It was a real help. :Tubarina: You helped us, too. :Ester: I did? :Tubarina: Visiting you gave us the perfect excuse for not doing homework. :Ester: What? :Tubarina: Well, we’re going to make up more excuses now. :Ester: You’re kidding? :Polvina: laughs You’re right, Ester. She is kidding. :Polvina and Tubarina: laughing :Ester: If I didn’t like you so much, I’d think you were awful!